I am pleased to announce the appointment of Robert Horton as IMLS Associate Deputy Director for Library Services. Bob has most recently served as state archivist and director of the library, publications, and collections division at the Minnesota Historical Society. In his new position at IMLS, he is responsible for the management of the discretionary grant programs in the Office of Library Services.

Bob studied and taught history at Brown, Ohio State, Indiana University, and Yale, then started his archival career at the State Archives of Indiana. Among other activities, he was on the advisory boards of the College of St. Catherine’s Library and Information School and the Legacy Tobacco Document Library at the University of California San Francisco and chaired the Center for Legislative Archives’ Descriptive Practices Working Group.

Bob has worked most closely with digital content and electronic records projects, directing the Minnesota Historical Society’s National Digital Information and Infrastructure Preservation Program initiative. He also worked with legislative digital content and its preservation; the immigrant oral history online project, funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services; the National Newspaper Digitization Program, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities; and the digitization of Swedish language newspapers, in collaboration with the National Library of Sweden.

Recent publications include "A Cautionary Tale about Laws, Records and Technology," Documenting Society and Institutions: Essays in Honor of Helen Willa Samuels (Society of American Archivists, 2011), and Government 2.0: Government in the Age of YouTube (National Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council, 2007).

Please join me in welcoming Robert Horton to IMLS.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.